Pages

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Online Safety and Presence

Most writers are spending more time than ever online. And we’re putting a lot of ourselves out there—on social media, through blogging—or even by sharing our work online.

Although that’s the best way to access the support of the online writing community (and publishers love it, from a marketing standpoint), it pays to keep an eye on our online presence.

Recently, the Writer Warriors blog ran a good post on basic online safety tips. I might have violated a couple of them from time to time. :) It’s a good reminder that we’re not just communicating with our friends when we’re putting our information online—we’re also communicating it to any bad guys out there in cyberspace.

Some writers I’ve come across worry a lot about online security and cyberstalkers, etc. I think it’s a good thing to think about and to be careful with, but I can honestly say that so far I can count on one hand the number of creepy people I’ve met online and I have a pretty extensive network. It’s easy enough to unfollow or unfriend or block these folks. But I do have a writing friend who has had a more serious problem—so there are really scary people out there.

You need to make sure to change your passwords on Twitter (especially Twitter….which has hackers breaking in pretty frequently) and Facebook fairly often. If someone hijacks our online identity, it’s going to be a problem.

I also do Google searches on my name occasionally (probably not as often as I should.) I have Google alerts for my books and blog. Sometimes I’ll check my name on Google images and it’s mind boggling the amount of stuff that comes up. There are definitely pictures of me on there, but some of the pictures I don’t understand at all. It’s a good way to make sure your name isn’t being misused in any way or that your identity hasn’t been stolen.

We also have to watch out for online pirates, unfortunately. There are blogs that are set up as fronts for spammers. They’ll steal your content in a second. Sometimes you can contact these places and mention copyright and successfully get them to take the stuff down—sometimes it just doesn’t work.

A couple of my friends have had their published books put up on pirate sites for download. They contacted their publisher and got them to tackle it…which they did. It’s better to go through your publisher for that kind of thing—they’ve got the Big Gun lawyers, after all.

And we can’t forget the stuff that we put up online before we really think about what we’re saying. Since our online remarks stay accessible for years after we make them, we really need to pass everything we write through a filter—would we want our publisher/employer/readers/mother/children to read this comment? Can it possibly be taken the wrong way?

Unfortunately, the more time we spend online, the easier it is to relax and forget about these things. When I read articles like the one that came out the other day, it reminds me that I should pay more attention.

Subscribe for free via email

Elizabeth Spann Craig

Elizabeth's latest Penguin book "Rubbed Out," (written as Riley Adams) released July 2, 2013. She launched "Death at a Drop-In" (a Myrtle Clover mystery...self-pubbed) in August. Her next Penguin/Signet book, "Quilt Trip," (written as Elizabeth Craig) releases December 2013. Elizabeth writes the Memphis Barbeque series for Penguin/Berkley (as Riley Adams), the Southern Quilting mysteries for Penguin/Signet, and the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink and independently. Find out more about her books on her website: http://elizabethspanncraig.com .

Search The Blog

Blogging Schedule

Follow Me on Twitter

Death at a Drop-In

A Myrtle Clover Mystery--August 2013

Quilt Trip--Dec. 2013--Quilting Mystery #3--Penguin/Signet

Muriel Starnes, an elderly eccentric, has organized a meeting of quilters to pick someone to administer a quilting scholarship. But once the quilters arrive at the mansion, it seems they may never leave. An ice storm sends an old tree crashing across the driveway, leaving them stranded for the night. And by the next morning, they are one fewer—for Muriel has been sent to meet her maker. With everyone in the house a suspect, it’s up to Beatrice and the Village Quilters to figure out who has a guilty conscience before someone else gets tied up in knots

Rubbed Out--Memphis BBQ #4--July 2013

Reuben Shaw rubs a lot of people the wrong way—including Lulu’s best friend, Cherry, who has the misfortune of being in the booth next to his at the festival. The pigheaded pit master thinks he’s a shoo-in to win the barbeque competition, but he spends more time stirring up trouble than seasoning his spare ribs. Hours after she gets into a quarrel with him, Cherry finds Shaw dead with a butcher knife in his chest. Now it’s her turn to get grilled—by the police. Lulu sets out to clear her friend’s name and finds Shaw had more secrets than his BBQ recipe. She’ll need to act fast, because the real killer will spare no one…including Lulu.

"Knot What it Seams"--Feb. 5, 2013

Southern Quilting Mysteries: Dwindling membership has the Village Quilters hanging by a thread, and group leader Meadow Downey is desperate to recruit some new folks. With Beatrice’s blessing, she attempts to weave frequent quilt show judge Jo Paxton into their fold. As the town’s irascible mail carrier, Jo delivers trouble wherever she goes. And with all that mail at her fingertips, she knows everyone’s business. Soon Beatrice wonders if they’ve made the right choice.

"Quilt or Innocence"--June 5 2012

Southern Quilting Mysteries: As the newest member of the Village Quilters Guild, Beatrice has a lot of gossip to catch up on—especially with the Patchwork Cottage quilt shop about to close. It seems that Judith, the landlord everyone loves to hate, wants to raise the rent, despite being a quilter herself… But when Judith is found dead, the harmless gossip becomes an intricate patchwork of mischievous motives. And it’s up to Beatrice’s expert eye to decipher the pattern and catch the killer, before her life gets sewn up for good.

Hickory Smoked Homicide

Memphis BBQ Mysteries: Since she runs the hottest BBQ joint in town, Lulu knows just about everyone in Memphis. But one person she'd rather not know is Tristan Pembroke, a snooty pageant coach with a mean streak longer than the line outside Lulu's restaurant. When she finds Tristan's dead body stuffed in a closet at a party, the police are suspicious--especially since Lulu's developed a taste for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Caught in a situation stickier than molasses, Lulu must clear her name--or risk getting fried...

Finger Lickin' Dead

Memphis BBQ Mysteries: When an anonymous food critic blasts several local restaurants—including Aunt Pat’s—Lulu Taylor and her customers are biting mad, especially when they learn that Eppie Currian is the pen name of their friend Evelyn’s cheating boyfriend. When “Eppie” gets his own fatal review, the list of suspects is longer than the list of specials at the best BBQ place in Memphis.

Delicious and Suspicious:

Memphis BBQ Mysteries: Publishers Weekly: "A sassy first in a new series from Adams." Book one of the Memphis Barbeque Series. When a food scout from a cable cooking channel is murdered, it's only natural for restaurant owner Lulu Taylor to take it personally. After all, her barbeque restaurant served the scout's last meal. But danger lurks as Lulu investigates the crime. Will she clear the restaurant's name, or is she next to be skewered?

"A Body in the Backyard"--a Myrtle Clover Mystery. Nov. 2012

It’s just an ordinary day for octogenarian sleuth Myrtle Clover—until her yardman discovers a dead body planted in her backyard. This death isn’t cut and dried—the victim was bashed in the head with one of Myrtle’s garden gnomes.Myrtle’s friend Miles recognizes the body and identifies him as Charles Clayborne… reluctantly admitting he’s a cousin. Charles wasn’t the sort of relative you bragged about—he was a garden variety sleaze, which is very likely why he ended up murdered. As Myrtle starts digging up dirt to nip the killings in the bud, someone’s focused on scaring her off the case. Myrtle vows to find the murderer…before she’s pushing up daisies, herself.

Progressive Dinner Deadly

$2.99 for Kindle and Nook. A Myrtle Clover Mystery: Octogenarian Myrtle Clover isn't thrilled when her book club morphs into a supper club. But things get a little more interesting when a body is discovered during the 3rd course. Can Myrtle's sleuthing smoke out the killer before her goose is cooked?

A Dyeing Shame

A Myrtle Clover Mystery: When Beauty Box beautician Tammy Smith is discovered with a pair of hair shears in her back, there are suspects and secrets aplenty in her small Southern town. Octogenarian Myrtle Clover, bored by bingo and bridge, is intrigued by the crime…and her neighbors’ secrets. But discovering, and blabbing, secrets got Tammy killed and Myrtle soon learns her sleuthing isn’t just dangerous…it’s deadly. Available on Nook and Kindle.

Pretty is as Pretty Dies

A Myrtle Clover Mystery: An August 1, 2009 release by Midnight Ink. The Publishers Weekly review: "The amusing first in a new cozy series from Craig...Myrtle's wacky personality is a delight." Mystery Scene magazine: "Craig’s skill at evoking a small town and its idiosyncratic inhabitants renders this mystery a pleasure to read. I’m looking forward to the further exploits of Myrtle Clover.” ForeWord Magazine: "The treat here is Myrtle’s eccentricity, brought to life with rich humor and executed for the most part with breezy skill." Mystery News: "Wonderful cozy mystery: solidly written, well-plotted and funny." Midwest Book Review: "I loved this book. The story is typical of a lot of small towns anywhere in the US, but Elizabeth Spann Craig added a new dimension with Myrtle and her elderly friends."